"Thanks for the subs!" drawings posted on other's walls

[Lanu]

Hi... I'm another immigrant from Inkblazers/Mangamagazine and have been somewhat a quiet reader observing things going on. Admittedly I find it a little bit of a pet peeve when people copy and paste the same "Thank you for faving my comic!" comments on every of their readers' profiles (it just doesn't feel like genuine gratitude) but at least it's not some obvious spam or treating it their readers' pages as billboards. But after coming to Tapastic and looking around, things seem to have kicked up a notch and turned into images/drawings. And that to me screams shameless plugging and I somewhat dread the day that I receive one on my wall. I mean, kudos for their effort in drawing them but again, it's just copying and pasting.. and it feels like the creators who do that don't even check out their readers profile pages and/or series'. It's less personal and just begging for attention from other readers who happen to stumble on people's walls. I know it's hard to engage with every single of their readers but... I dunno. This is just my two cents. What do you guys think about it?

[keii4ii]

I'm indifferent about it. I don't find it too annoying (I know a few people who do it, and they're all genuinely thankful to their readers), but at the same time, I don't feel special when I receive them on my wall. So I don't post anything on my subscribers' walls (unless I'm specifically trying to talk to them about something).

Maybe now that creators can notify readers by posting on their OWN walls, more and more people will just post stuff on their own walls to notify others. For example, instead of pasting the picture on every new reader's wall, they could post subscriber count kiriban images on their own wall.

[davidlhickmon]

Full admission time: I AM one of the people who does that. I have an image that I send out to subscribers, thanking them for subscribing. When I first started doing it here, I sent them privately, but I was told by another member that I should go ahead and post them publicly, specifically to get more exposure for my comic.

That being said, on Comic Fury (my main site - I mirror here), I have all KINDS of special things for subscribers, which I send to them privately (I suppose I should start doing that here, too...). And yes, they are the same thing to every subscriber, but I tend to put a lot of Easter Eggs in my comic, and subscribers get to have them pointed out (especially since their comics are most often the subject of said eggs).

Honestly, I see it as innocent and harmless, but to each their own...

[PotooGryphon]

I also post "Thank you" posts to everyone that subscribes to my comic, however, I do try to write a personal thank you to each subscriber. Insert a little joke, comment on their avatar, bio, user name, or look at their reading list and comment on it, maybe suggest another comic they might love. It's been a great way to genuinely thank each reader for following, and awesome friendships and conversations have started from that.

Also, I've found a lot of unknown great comics by looking at other reader's wall posts and reading list. So I don't see them as a bad thing, even if they are a bit of a shameless plug. However, none of them actually link back to their comics (that I've seen), in my eyes, that makes it less spammy. They're not littering my wall with links but with beautiful artwork (is that really a bad thing?).

idk, as long as intentions are good, I don't have a problem with it. And as a reader, I'm happy when a comic I like and follow posts to my wall. I hope other people will find it too, and if I can help them achieve that, awesome.

[Lanu]

I see... I guess I got my negative view on "thank you" messages mostly from Inkblazers. I used to follow this one artist who made it to premium and got super popular. The system in Inkblazers' dashboard made it so that you can see every single comment and activity made by your favourite authors. And so that author sometimes spends an entire day copying and pasting the same "Thank you for the fave!" message on 100 readers' profile pages. You can imagine how it looked on my dashboard feed. I had to resort to unfaving said author to stop that kind of spam once and for all. I'm glad that Tapastic doesn't have this kind of feature!

[WintreKitty]

I agree with most of the points made here. I actually enjoy getting those images that are made specifically for people who have subscribed. I know it's not a special thanks only directed at me, but at the same time, the author took the time to make an image for that specific reason to thank their followers and I can appreciate that. I'm no artist, but for every follower that I get I make sure to send a message and say thank you. Showing your thanks on an individual level can be time consuming and maybe unrealistic for some artists so I appreciated even the seemingly simplest of things.

[PotooGryphon]

I've actually seen a couple artist make special Thank You's for each reader. @Kenn, in particular, he actually writes the reader's name on each image. <3

That's love right there. haha I wish I had that much time in my schedule to do a little extra something for each reader. X3 Maybe one day when I get caught up.

[ErithEl]

@Lanu I totally understand where you're coming from (and I can see why it would be a bit of an annoyance based on the notifications you got from Inkblazers. That must have been such a drag!)

Personally, I do copy and paste a Thank You image to my subscribers. I've always seen it as a really genuine way of letting your readers know you are grateful to them for taking the time to read and subscribe to your comic. The difference of opinion, however, might be based solely on creators who receive multiple subscribers per day and those who receive (maybe) one per week . . . it's much more of a big deal to the latter, and since even a copy-and-pasted drawing (in my opinion) seems more personal, and shows more gratitude than a simple text post, I believe that is why those creators do it.

It's also been a good way for me to discover new comics. Assuming you are actually interested in the genre/type of comic you are creating ( ) , and assuming anyone who subscribes to your comic has similar interests, it's always been fun to scroll through the images posted on their walls to find new ones that you will enjoy reading and subscribing too.

[SuperRazz]

I remember well that Inkblazer's feed does not update everytime someone comments on someone else's PROFILE. Or is my memory wrong?

Personally, I like receiving them. They make my profile wall pretty
When I thank people (back in IB), I'll mention their name, take a look at their works and write a comment about it. It's my way of being sincerely thankful.

All these "thank yous" are indeed only copy pasted but that doesn't necessarily imply an author is insincere. I mean, how else can you say "thank you"?

[jessiepolfliet]

Yes I post a image too, but I don't see it as a bad thing because I am genuinely excited when I get a new subscriber for my series. I always check out the series of my subscribers. That's what I like about Tapastic, sharing your work and see work of others. I get that this is more difficult for comics with let's say a 200 subs. At least you acknowledge your subscribers instead of ignoring them and only post your pages and never say a thing to your subscribers.

[Eligor191]

Nah I think its an Awesome. Cause when i see a creator that i love post an image in my wall it means he check out his subscribers and thanking them. I believe its a nice thing to do .

[randarivera]

Yeah, I totally dig it when folk post the thank you images. I've also discovered series that way. I was under the impression that they were more or less well-received by most users, so I was going to create some for my own series.

[Menbung]

I come from Ib too and when I saw that on Tapastic you could do "thank you images" I went crazy, I love the idea, so I put a little extra effort and made one, I know it can be seen as a copy paste, but man it is nearly impossible for an artist to draw a new (different) image everytime a new person susbscribes, I try to write them something personal, or add funny faces to the comment XD.

The other thing that I wanted to mention, is that: "the creators who do that don't check their redears series"..., I mean when you add another peeps work is because you like it and want to support it, to read more of it, not because you want that specific artist to check you or check your story, but I guess that's just my view on it.

Anyways, maybe some artist do it to shamelessly plug themselves, but I can't speak for them, I speak for me and I do it coz I'm grateful. Regards Oo.oO

[sixteentons]

I love the thank you pictures! I've found most of the comics I follow through this trend.
Apart from what has already been said, it's an equalizer: it allows people to see full size art from a series that might not already be popular, or plugged by the site, and it's an ice breaker for people who are shy to start interacting with people.
And besides, since most of us aren't getting paid for the hours we pour into our projects and most people (myself included) only recommend other people's comics on social media once in a blue moon, if our walls can be used as advertising space for stuff we actually like, where's the harm?

[gateofselidor]

I like it when people post messages and images on my wall, and I enjoy posting them on my subscribers' walls. I'm always grateful when somebody subscribes to my comic, and I want to let them know that. I've also ended up subscribing to more than one comic because they posted an image on somebody else's wall, so it actually works as a marketing tactic.

[hierogriff]

I did a "100 subs" doodle for Outside the Box when I reached that number and posted it on the first 100 subscriber's walls. I was thinking of doing a new general "Thanks for subscribing" doodle, but I wonder if I should send it to the 280-odd who have already subscribed a while ago? What do you guys think?

[UzukiCheverie]

It's different from person to person. Some people love sending them out, while some hate receiving them, and vice versa. If you don't like them, the most you can do is just smile, say thank you for the image and you're welcome for subscribing to them, and move on. That's the most universally respectful thing to do at least rather than just making everyone stop doing them entirely (:

I know I do the image for Uzuki, but I'll send personal PM's for Time Gate. Yeep. Best of both worlds ~ As for receiving them, sometimes they annoy me a bit, but I know that most of the creators here (myself included) are thankful for the readers they have and they just want to show that, so I'm respectful about it at the least. And I still encourage people to do it because it's just nice (and really fun to see the different versions people do!)

Yep. My two cents.

[Kenn]

Admittedly I find it a little bit of a pet peeve when people copy and paste the same "Thank you for faving my comic!" comments on every of their readers' profiles (it just doesn't feel like genuine gratitude)

I've actually seen a couple artist make special Thank You's for each reader. @Kenn, in particular, he actually writes the reader's name on each image. <3

Thanks for the mention Cyndi <3 I actually have several characters too that appear on those pictures, I'll generally have a quick peek on people's walls too to work out which character to use.

Lanu, that's why I do customize every one. Because it means a hell of a lot that every person that does like the comic enough to subscribe gets a little something in return, especially in a comic as buried in the system as mine haha ; P

[mjmassey]

I personally like getting an image. Even if it's the same one everyone else gets, it's extra art work from a comic I like, and the author noticed that I subscribed and took the time to post to my wall. I'm starting to get a few more subscribers, so now I am sending out Thank you messages. I try to personalize them a little bit so they don't seem copy/paste-ish, but I usually don't know the person very well, so it's hard to know what to say.

[michaelson]

Hm, I've been happy to see it pick up more momentum and become more of a norm on Tapastic. It definitely adds more to the reader experience which is nice.

I understand that some people feel that it is a cookie cutter message to promote yourself on other people's walls, but I don't necessarily see that as a bad thing. I personally really enjoy seeing them, I get a bunch per day, I find myself not being able to keep up to responding to all of them (which I feel bad about).

But I guess, my question for everyone here is, what's next? What's the next logical step to make this special again?

There's this term called jamais vu (it's the opposite of deja vu), where something old feels new again. Every once in a while, I'll get a wall post image from a creator thanking me for subscribing that feels really fresh and well thought out. I'm always, always looking forward to those moments.

For example, I'll always remember what Little Endian did with Leaves (here) where she drew all her current subscribers. I thought that was really great (also time consuming, haha).